Readers asked to measure Ramsay's voice of 21 years ago and later; Romney as Virgil.
BOSTON, Mass. - (HR) Due to our recent article, "Ramsay MIA from Motley installation," a number of our readers have requested a reprint of a November 13, 1986 article which forms part of the HERITAGE RESERVES'S archives. This article about Jamaica's former Councillor Hon. Wilmot Max Ramsay, which has "come of age," originates from the very prestigious The Jamaica Gleaner Western Weekly newspaper published exactly 21 years ago, today, November 13 [, 2007]. J. Keith Motley, a Northeastern University graduate, is an accomplished sportsman and the 8th Chancellor of UMass Boston. The republished article:
Former Councillor urges youths to keep away from drugs
A PASSIONATE plea for our youths "to abstain from the usage of hard drugs" has been made by former St. James Parish Councillor Wilmot 'Max' Ramsay as he delivered the main address at the presentation ceremony of the Bickersteth/City Sports Corner League football [soccer] competition held at the Bickersteth Community Centre, Sunday, November 9.
"To maintain law and order, discipline, excellence, professionalism and team spirit, I humbly beg of you to abstain at all cost from the usage of hard drugs," he said.
The former Councillor said that man's personality reflects his community and as such if we strive to have a drug-free society that would in a great way be saying a lot about us as individuals and a people.
"Drugs [are] a dangerous evil which prostitutes itself to those who will succumb to temptation. Do not touch it, leave it alone. It will retard your progress and development," counselled Mr. Ramsay. Youth and Community Development goes hand in hand he stressed, adding that "as you continue to make your names in football and other sports, you automatically develop your community, parish and country."
Mr. Ramsay also paid tribute to those who took part in the competition, the organisers and the sponsors. Greetings were also brought by Mr. Keith Slack, co-sponsor and Mayor Milton Stewart.
(Copyright @ The Gleaner WESTERN WEEKLY, (Jamaica), Thursday, November 13, 1986, III)
The War for Honors
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - (HR) In a related story, a Harvard University professor, who prefers to remain anonymous, and who has followed the Honors Program War at the University of Massachusetts Boston, stated, when asked about the War:
"It is a classic example of 'Renaissance Characters' where the perception of good fights evil. When [Wilmot Max] Ramsay, after the [Fiora A.] Bassanese charge of plagiarism, responded forcefully with the 'Eve-like creature' and '[a] temptress indeed she is!' in reference to Bassanese in addressing the genesis of the Honors Program War, this expression demonstrates overwhelming confidence on the part of Ramsay and presumably Bassanese as well. From Ramsay's 'A Declaration of War,' 17 years later (2007), it would appear that both he and Bassanese, with a very passive [James F.] Brennan as mediator decided that neither party was going to submit nor surrender. Ramsay went on to say that '[t]he good sense ... prevail[s]!' On the surface, it would take a talk with [Robert H.] Spaethling, [the Deputy Provost of UMass Boston], before Bassanese would blink.
"The charge from Sherry H. Penney, UMass Boston Chancellor, to Max Ramsay who responded on behalf of fellow Chancellorian Scholars, in 1989, was: 'You must test the facts for yourselves, explore beyond your textbook, pull the matter apart to examine it analytically, put it together in different relationships, defend the theories and attack them, question, discuss and reflect. We celebrate you, your families and our University. And we may also eagerly anticipate what lies ahead in your future. The best of luck to all of you. Work hard, drink the cup of education dry. [And] be proud ambassadors of UMass Boston ....'
"'A Look At Dante And Petrarca's Styles,' therefore, is a classic rendition of 'the rebirth' and this recreation, accompanied with the Honors Program War, gives rise to innumerable ways of viewing the age old conflict with the sexes. For, if we want to accept Bassanese to be 'the Eve' then, it goes without saying that Max Ramsay is 'the Adam', with regards to the Honors Program War.
"The period prior to the War at UMass Boston represents, for Ramsay, a most active, productive and fruitful era of his 'Odyssey' (2005) which begins in Jamaica (akin to Greece) and a journey to the 'New World' (America) on 'his first visit' when he is accorded, in 1982, a tremendously warm welcome by his 'American counterparts' - Councilllor Bruce C. Bolling, his chief sponsor, and others - of the Boston City Council.
"Bolling, 'for all the Councillors,' inaugurated the Wilmot Max Ramsay Week - September 27 to October 3 - at City Hall, on Wednesday, September 29, 1982. Max Ramsay was 20 years old then and only 18 when elected in his native Jamaica. This rare honor forms part of a blossoming and flowering, in America, of the Max Ramsay saga which would later, in the early 21st Century, assume Jamaican American status and identity. Ramsay as a Jamaican culture icon, and being the youngest person to be elected to public office in Jamaica, represents the 'greening' of the times - hope, youth, energy, vitality and the embodiment of a renaissance made manifest with the sobriquet of 'Little David' given Ramsay by fellow Jamaicans and which has transcended other cultures.
"Bassanese, who it has been learned was privy to such development, from conference within Honors Program circles, could have been more sensitive by inviting 'David' to, perhaps, entertain her. At this juncture, Bassanese could have rightly put on the mantle of Michelangelo. Culturally, she could have fashioned a masterpiece. Neither Bassanese nor Ramsay will ever manage to outlive such, what appears to be, missed opportunity.
"With 'Bitches, Witches ... Call Them What You Will,' Ramsay, it has been noted, in apparent anger, points finger at his 'Eve' of the current discussion who eventually absolves him of his wrath with the now equally famous Bassanese 'Apology' followed by Ramsay's response. A shrewd Bassanese remarks that Max Ramsay was just 'flaunting your linguistic ability,' which could be meant as a compliment but due to heated exchanges, this truism evaporates as thin air. It has been a point of discussion that if Bassanese genuinely meant good with her 'linguistic ability' remark she could have at least reached out to embrace and nurture Ramsay and to make come true Ramsay's apparent attempt 'to fully win her hand.' For Councillor and Professor, this desired merger of the minds, in a positive venture, without denial, could have wrought scores of intellectual development - as a team - for Bassanese, Ramsay and their adherents. It is believed that the fire which burned between the two was initially positive but, due to other influences, the 'flame and spirit' consumed the well intentioned characters who, no doubt, suffered greatly, through what can only be imagined as a horrendous ordeal like, in this case, losing a dear one, one of Max Ramsay's brothers, Clifton Augustus (Bonnie), who attended Boston College. (Another older brother, Henry St. Michael (Robin), attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT).
"A poignant Max Ramsay 'crowning moment' would prove to be, on Monday, March 2, 1981, when his then 54 year old mother, Gwendolyn Victoria Scotland Ramsay, and her mother, his maternal grandmother, Selina C. Chambers, then 83, hail the 18 year old Ramsay 'Councillor' in announcing his 'ascension' to the St. James Parish Council. To this well intentioned, jubilant remark, the young and then melancholic of the Chambers-Scotland-Ramsay clan, who had been elected First Citizen of Cambridge, replies with a smooth: 'Do not laud me as Councillor, I remain your son and grandson,' respectively. Ramsay is a member of the conservative Jamaica Labour Party, the JLP. Max Ramsay, would, a year later, decline the offer from Mayor Shalman Scott, the Mayor of the City of Montego Bay, to become his Deputy. To this act, for the advancement of another of his peers, Ramsay was said to be 'unselfish.'
"It must therefore be underscored that Max Ramsay abdicated a promising political career for the sake of added intellect which is the main theme throughout Dante's Divine Comedy (loosely the Commedia). This action of Ramsay proved to be similar yet a novel display of the actual conception of the Honors Program at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. From the design of some of its early courses and texts, such as the Freshman Seminar by James F. Brennan [, the UMass/Boston Honors Program Director,] and Alan Helms (Plato's Republic; William Shakespeare's The Tempest and Economic Development, for the fall of 1989, form the cradle of the Honors Program curriculum). From reports, Jamaica Kincaid's 'A Small Place' was a favorite text.
"For the spring of 1990 there were the offerings of the classical 'Mozart In Vienna' by Robert H. Spaethling and the 'controversial' Honors 238: 'Images Of Women In Italian Culture' by Fiora A. Bassanese from which the trappings of The Tempest were given full stage to be enacted. Another course of note is: 'Making The Third World Modern' by Kathleen Hartford. It has been suggested and later confirmed by Ramsay's 'My Parents' Wedding Anniversary' (1990) that, in part, 'A Look At Dante and Petrarca's Styles' was indeed 'intended' to be non-fictional as it was to celebrate his parents' 42nd Wedding Anniversary on Saturday, March 31, 1990 and to act as an invitation. For, '... to be truthful, this essay of Renaissance thought is intended to charm someone within the garb of academe. Of course, when she shall have finally read my writing it is my fervent desire to win her over. She is Italian.
"'... I trust that my flower will concur.'"
(Ramsay, Wilmot Max. 'A Diary Excerpt, Saturday, March 31, 1990.' Boston: HERITAGE RESERVES, Saturday, March 31, 2007).
"'Little David,' therefore, though not anticipating a chilly reception from his 'flower,' and like his predecessor of olden time, captured and dominated the scene of honors at his alma mater, UMass Boston. Being secretary of the Honors Program and the Editor-in-Chief of The UMass Times, no doubt, Ramsay was privy to the operations of the inner sanctum of the department of honors. It can be deduced, therefore, that Ramsay, like Niccolo Machiavelli, was strategically placed and poised for success regardless of how long it took to receive his 'well earned' Diploma(s).
"Daniel C. Bracken, Max Ramsay's close friend and associate, functions as a medium and bridge between the races. His Lexington, Massachusetts, abode represented well needed escape, comfort and leisure from the maddening happenings of the times. It is also believed that Bracken's 'excellent relations' with Ramsay created a less tense milieu and a more calming effect as the Bracken family accommodated an obviously disappointed Max Ramsay.
"As we all know, at times, with honors go our egos. This is a natural human response which can be put to use constructively or in a negative manner. As the hero of the Honors Program War, and therefore a veteran, Max Ramsay exhibits much sacrifice to the point of 'shock,' fatigue and the manifestation of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"The Honors Program War of 1990 which began at the close of the 20th Century and entered the 21st, turned into a battle which would appear to end in 2005 with gubernatorial decree from Mitt Romney, Republican Presidential Candidate, after Max Ramsay's graduation without a diploma, for its release. The War Theater, therefore, of the Honors Program War at UMass Boston, mirrors and reflects high profile disagreements -- past, present and even into the future. As it turns out, it would take a fellow politician -- Romney -- to aid Ramsay in his quest from hell (1990) through purgatory (depression) to paradise (the eventual ['presentation'] of Diploma after 2005 Commencement). Romney therefore becomes a true Virgil, with Ramsay being also a Dante. Historically, it must be pointed out the fact that Dante Alighieri was also a Councillor of (the Middle Ages in Italy) which gives rise to the pertinent question: Why did Bassanese try to destroy her could-have-been Dante; Ramsay also, like her countryman, being an honorable Councillor?
"Dante's The Divine Comedy, therefore, through scenes of the Honors Program War, gets a new lease on life with overwhelming evidence of the latter mimicking the former in numerous aspects and situations made manifest and relevant to contemporary society.
"To top it all, Max Ramsay, in 2004, founded and becomes, with fellow alums of UMass Boston, president and executive director of Global Youth Trust, Inc., a non-profit organization geared for youth and community development and culture among other areas of interest. This creation, at best, prolongs the activities and endeavors of a youthful 'Little David' adding a Michelangelo-like mystique to his already colorful story.
"The Honors Program War at the University of Massachusetts at Boston is a body of work which spans, at least, 16 years. The War forms an ornate and heroic volume of Wilmot Maximillian Ramsay's biography as shown with the ultimate triumph of good over evil. For it was James F. Brennan's idea, intentionally or not, that Max Ramsay takes on the role of Prospero from William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest,' with Daniel C. Bracken being Ariel, as Ramsay 'perfected his magic that gives him the power he needs to punish and forgive his enemies.' It is through his Christian upbringing that he is capable to so do.
"We, therefore, patiently, await an answer from Professor Fiora A. Bassanese, because, from the Bassanese 'Apology,' it is quite clear that the behind the scene activities were those executed by a Junta; for with Ramsay's 'arrival at UMass Boston,' this in itself, it would further appear, established a coup. Bassanese could have been Beatrice. Similarly, Ramsay, from his prized literary rendition: 'A Look At Dante And Petrarca's Styles,' it could be argued that, he represents Petrarch (Petrarca); and Bassanese could have been Laura. Ramsay's father, Charles Adolphus Ramsay, a professor of English, not to be outdone, paid tribute, in word and kind, to his youngest son, 'Maxim,' regaling him with a laurel print and a book of masterpieces steeped in Italian Renaissance knowledge. To such endurance, one says: 'magnum miraculum est homo,' (what a great miracle is man)."
(Copyright @ HERITAGE RESERVES, Tuesday, November 13, 2007)
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